Religious statues and a nativity scene were vandalised at a Catholic church near Chicago this week.

A St Odilo parishioner screamed when they came upon the destruction, which included the removal of heads from statues of Mary and Joseph.

The vandalism was discovered on Sunday, as parishioners gathered to celebrate the upcoming feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The December 12 feast honours Jesus' mother, Mary, and is a popular observance among some Hispanic Catholics. The church is located in Berwyn, a suburb with a large Hispanic population.

The Christians were shocked to discover that the church's nativity display had been egged, a statue of Jesus was knocked down, and statues of Jesus and Mary were decapitated.

Pastor Anthony Brankin said that the timing of the crime was probably not a coincidence.

"It was very intentional, I think, to do something against religion in a very religious week and a very religious month," he told Reuters.

Brewyn police began investigating the incident on Tuesday, but have not released a comment on the case.

In October, Michael Tate Reed urinated on a six-foot-tall Ten Commandments monument before ramming into it with his car. The monument was knocked down and broken in several pieces.

Reed professed to be a Satanist, and told officials that Satan directed him to commit a crime. However, Reed's mother said her son is a devout Christian that sometimes has "breakdowns."

Vandalism of religious displays becomes more common around religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

A monument in Krakow, Poland honouring the late Pope John Paul II was covered in paint on April 23 – three days after Easter. The vandalism also occurred just four days before the late Pope was to be canonized in Rome.